MEET THE DESIGNER: Olga M Designs

Every week leading up to Phoenix Fashion Week, we will be posting a blog, to help our fans get to know the 2014 emerging designers a little bit better. Unlike our other posts, these come directly from this year’s emerging designers.

Today we feature Olga Medvedeva with Olga M Designs, one of our emerging accessory designers. Learn about her life, her work and other little known facts in today’s designer tell all post.

Bio: (background, school, work).

Olga Medvedeva with Olga M Designs

Having been born into artistic Russian family, I’ve always loved designing and creating beautiful and unique objects of art.

During my childhood, I attended art school for about three years, but mainly have been self-taught. In the early 2000s, I lived on a country farm in United States, raising peacocks and exotic pheasants with my family.

Every year, all the birds naturally molt their feathers after the breeding season, to make room for the new array of plumage to grace their mates for the upcoming year. I was very much in love with the colors and iridescence of these wonderful feathers and never wanted to throw them away. So, it was at that time that I started to collect them. Before I knew it, I had quite the collection and was adding various feathers into clothing and small objects, eventually progressing and designing larger and more complex feathered projects in the following years.

Hmm, there are a lot of style icons in the world, but I lean toward the graceful and elegant types.

Do you have any fashion secrets you can share with our readers?

It is very simple, really. Just be yourself.

For beginner designers, what are some tips for setting yourself apart from other designers?

Be who you are. Each designer has their own style and sense of direction and it’s reflected in their work. Everyone is naturally different–that is what makes you, as a designer, unique and stand on your own.

What trend are you looking forward to most this season?

I am looking forward to seeing women wear more skirts and dresses. And of course, elegant feathered fashion!

Where are your favorite places to shop?

Where there are beautiful clothes that “speak” to me.

Do you shop often to keep up with trends?

I believe that you create your own version of a ‘trend’ by wearing what makes you feel YOU. There may be some aspects of a current trend that you like and you may incorporate it into your wardrobe because you LIKE it, not because it is trendy or fashionable at the moment. Fashion and trends always change. You don’t need to change with it.

Do you have any tips on prioritizing purchases or staying stylish on a budget?

It is always good to have a fantastic white shirt, a stunning black dress, a sophisticated skirt and a pair of elegant slacks in your closet. You don’t need to have a lot of clothes. Just a few really good ones, that are timeless, will go with anything and will make you look stunning in any environment you may find yourself in.

And of course, you can’t forget the accessories. Make it simple and elegant. Sometimes less is more.

Do you have an all-time favorite purchase?

Absolutely–the vintage, black lace dress that I embellished with black feathers! It’s off the shoulder and laces up in the back. I love that dress.

Also, a pair of black high heels from Bebe. I must say, they are the MOST comfortable pair of shoes with a 3-4 inch heel. I can walk in all day and my feet do not get tired!

What is your favorite part about being a fashion designer?

You can create anything you wish.

What is one interesting, quirky fact about you that readers don’t know?

Hmm, which one to tell you…My best friend and I started a business before we were even teenagers. We painted murals in our town, eventually receiving a contract from a local school. It was great!